STUDENT RESOURCES

Middle States Evaluation

Philadelphia University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.(MSCHE) As part of the accreditation process an outside team composed of peer reviewers selected by the Commission from other comparable Middle States member institutions, visits our campus every ten years to assess the extent to which we are meeting the 14 Standards for Accreditation established by the Commission, and the extent to which we have accomplished our institutional goals as according to our Mission Statement and since 2007, our Strategic Plan. Our next accreditation visit will be in spring 2016, and so we are now conducting a campus wide internal assessment and preparation phase known as the Self-Study process.

During the Self-Study process, teams of University stakeholders, including faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and students will join together to compile documentary evidence of our accomplishments and challenges and share ideas about areas that require more work and attention to meet our own internal goals and standards as well as to identify those areas in which our institution excels. They will also document the extent to which we meet or excel in each of the 14 Standards for Accreditation established by MSCHE. The compilation and formal written report will be composed by four thematically organized Self-Study Working Groups whose membership comprise faculty, staff, and administration, and who will be guided in this endeavor by a Self-Study Steering Committee also comprising faculty, staff, and administration and chaired by Barbara Kimmelman, Jeff Cromarty, and Pat Thatcher. The comprehensive final report comprising the documents supporting our written self-evaluation, answers to the research questions we have posed to ourselves, and evidence of compliance with each of the 14 Standards will be submitted to MSCHE and to our visiting team and will determine our ongoing accreditation status.

Finally, the campus visit in Spring 2016, conducted by a team of 7-10 visiting faculty, administrators, and staff, will determine whether our Self-Study as written actually corresponds to our practice. Visiting team members will interview selected and random faculty, students, administrators, and trustees about areas of excellence and challenge. They will clarify through the visit, areas in the report that they consider crucial for a full understanding and accreditation of the institution. On the final day of the visit, they will report out to all campus stakeholders their impression of our institution and in the following months meet privately with the MSCHE commissioners to determine our accreditation status.

Self-Study is a critical enterprise in the lifecycle of all institutions since it leads to institutional renewal through a process of data informed analysis and critique. Please participate freely and return to this page frequently in the next 18 months for formal updates on our progress during the Self-Study process and to learn how to prepare for the campus visit. Important links are provided below.